Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it is now accepting nominations for the 2024 Green Chemistry Challenge Awards from companies or institutions that have developed a new green chemistry process or product that helps protect human health and the environment. EPA’s efforts to speed the adoption of this revolutionary and diverse discipline have led to significant environmental benefits, innovation, and a strengthened economy. The awards program highlights green chemistry that helps prevent pollution before it is even created, making it a preferred approach for providing solutions to some of the nation’s most significant environmental challenges.
“Green Chemistry continues to be a leading and innovative field that demonstrates how cutting-edge technologies can be used to prevent pollution at its source. New this year, an award category was added to recognize technology that promotes circularity through green chemistry and design of greener chemicals and materials which can be readily recycled or reused. We are excited to recognize innovation in avoiding plastics added to landfills after just one use, considering how challenging and costly they are to reuse or recycle.”
Jennie Romer, EPA Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention Deputy Assistant Administrator for Pollution Prevention
Nominations are due to EPA by Dec. 8, 2023. An independent panel of technical experts convened by the American Chemical Society Green Chemistry Institute will formally judge the 2024 nominations and make recommendations to EPA for the 2024 winners. EPA anticipates giving awards to outstanding green chemistry technologies in six categories in fall 2024.
Additionally, EPA is announcing a webinar to be held on Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023, from 1-2 pm CDT to educate stakeholders on the Green Chemistry Challenge Awards and the nomination process. Register for the webinar.
Since the inception of the awards more than a quarter century ago, EPA has received more than 1,800 nominations and presented awards for 133 technologies that decrease hazardous chemicals and resources, reduce costs, protect human health, and spur economic growth. Winning technologies are responsible for annually reducing the use or generation of hundreds of millions of pounds of hazardous chemicals, saving billions of gallons of water, and eliminating billions of pounds of carbon dioxide equivalents.
Invasive species – including plants, animals and fish – cause heavy damage to crops, wildlife and human health worldwide. Some prey on native species; other out-compete them for space and food or spread disease. A new United Nations report estimates the losses generated by invasives at more than US$423 billion yearly and shows that these damages have at least quadrupled in every decade since 1970.
Humans regularly move animals, plants and other living species from their home areas to new locations, either accidentally or on purpose. For example, they may import plants from faraway locations to raise as crops or bring in a nonnative animal to prey on a local pest. Other invasives hitch rides in cargo or ships’ ballast water.
When a species that is not native to a particular area becomes established there, reproducing quickly and causing harm, it has become invasive. These recent articles from The Conversation describe how several invasive species are causing economic and ecological harm across the U.S. They also explain steps that people can take to avoid contributing to this urgent global problem.
1. The best intentions: Callery pear trees
Many invasive species were introduced to new locations because people thought they would be useful. One example that’s widely visible across the U.S. Northeast, Midwest and South is the Callery pear (Pyrus calleryana), a flowering tree that botanists brought to the U.S. from Asia more than 100 years ago.
Horticulturists loved the Callery pear for landscaping and wanted to produce trees that all grew and bloomed in the same way. As University of Dayton plant ecologist Ryan W. McEwan explained, they created identical clones from cuttings of trees with the desired characteristics – a process called grafting. Unlike some trees, a Callery pear can’t fertilize its flowers with its own pollen, so plant experts thought it wouldn’t spread.
Missouri state foresters explain why Callery pear trees became so popular and the problems they cause.
However, “as horticulturalists tinkered with Callery pears to produce new versions, they made the individuals different enough to escape the fertilization barrier,” McEwan wrote. As wind and birds spread the trees’ seeds, wild populations of the trees became established and started crowding out native species.
Today, Callery pear trees are such scourges that several states have banned them. Others are paying residents to cut them down and replace them with native plants.
2. Tiny organisms, big impacts: Zebra and quagga mussels
Invasive species don’t have to be large to cause outsized damage. Zebra and quagga mussels – shellfish the size of a fingernail – invaded the Great Lakes in the 1980s, clogging water intake pipes and out-competing native mollusks for food. Now they’re spreading west via rivers, lakes and bays, threatening waters all the way to the Pacific coast and Alaska.
As Rochester Institute of Technology environmental historian Christine Keiner wrote, it took several decades for the U.S. and Canada to regulate ships’ management of their ballast water tanks, which was the route by which the mussels were introduced to North America.
“Now, however, other human activities are increasingly contributing to harmful freshwater introductions – and with shipping regulated, the main culprits are thousands of private boaters and anglers,” Keller wrote. Limiting the destructive impacts of invasive species “requires scientific, technological and historical knowledge, political will and skill to persuade the public that everyone is part of the solution.”
When an invasive species is especially successful at spreading and reproducing, it can threaten the health of entire ecosystems. Consider the Pacific red lionfish (Pterois volitans), which has spread throughout the Caribbean and now is moving south along Brazil’s coast.
Lionfish thrive in many ocean habitats, from coastal mangrove forests to deepwater reefs, and they prey on numerous smaller fish species. In the Caribbean, they have reduced the number of small juvenile fish on reefs by up to 80% within as little as five weeks.
“Scientists and environmental managers widely agree that the lionfish invasion in Brazil is a potential ecological disaster,” warned Brazilian marine ecologist Osmar J. Luiz of Charles Darwin University. “Brazil’s northeast coast, with its rich artisanal fishing activity, stands on the front line of this invasive threat.”
Genetic diversity patterns of lionfish in the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean reveal a rapidly expanding stepping-stone bioinvasion process | Scientific Reports https://t.co/qnl6xjXqu0
Although the Brazilian government was slow to address the lionfish threat, Luiz asserted that “with strategic, swift action and international collaboration, it can mitigate the impacts of this invasive species and safeguard its marine ecosystems.” That will require many techniques, from recruiting coastal residents to monitor for the invaders to tracking lionfish subpopulations using DNA analysis.
4. The value of acting locally
Public awareness is critical for stemming the spread of many invasive plants and animals. That can involve actions as simple as cleaning your shoes and socks after a hike.
“Certain species of nonnative invasive plants produce seeds designed to attach to unsuspecting animals or people. Once affixed, these sticky seeds can be carried long distances before they fall off in new environments,” explains Boise State University ecology Ph.D. candidate Megan Dolman.
Research shows that recreational trails promote the introduction of invasive plant species into natural and protected areas, including national parks and scenic trails.
In her research, Dolman found that few Appalachian Trail hikers were aware of the risk of carrying invasive plant seeds on their shoes or socks, so they typically did not take steps such as cleaning their gear before and after hiking. By knowing about invasive species in their areas and ways to manage them, people can help protect special places and keep invasive species from spreading.
Editor’s note: This story is a roundup of articles from The Conversation’s archives.
A new scientific report offers the most exhaustive look yet at how nonnative plants and animals can drive extinctions, disrupt food systems and harm human health.
In the aftermath of extreme weather events, major insurers are increasingly no longer offering coverage that homeowners in areas vulnerable to those disasters need most.
At least five large U.S. property insurers — including Allstate, American Family, Nationwide, Erie Insurance Group and Berkshire Hathaway — have told regulators that extreme weather patterns caused by climate change have led them to stop writing coverages in some regions, exclude protections from various weather events and raise monthly premiums and deductibles.
Major insurers say they will cut out damage caused by hurricanes, wind and hail from policies underwriting property along coastlines and in wildfire country, according to a voluntary survey conducted by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, a group of state officials who regulate rates and policy forms.
Insurance providers are also more willing to drop existing policies in some locales as they become more vulnerable to natural disasters. Most home insurance coverages are annual terms, so providers are not bound to them for more than one year.
The Biden administration on Thursday said it is offering $15.5 billion to help U.S. automakers retool existing plants that make gas-powered vehicles and turn them into factories that deliver electric cars and trucks.
The U.S. Department of Energy funding includes $2 billion in Inflation Reduction Act grants to convert domestic manufacturing facilities and expand production of hybrid, battery-powered and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles. The DOE is also planning to provide up to $10 billion to support conversion projects through the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program. Separately, $3.5 billion could be made available to expand domestic battery manufacturing via the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
The announcement arrives at a particularly tense period for the U.S. auto industry — fueled in part by workers’ growing concerns that electrifying America’s transportation sector could mean eliminating certain jobs and shifting employment away from traditional manufacturing centers.
Hip hop’s relationship to the environment, both in terms of lyrics and political activism, goes back to its very beginning, when smoke from apartment fires blackened the skies of the 1970s South Bronx. And yet its role in advocating for climate solutions has largely gone unnoticed.
John Seo sells an investment labeled “catastrophe” — and people cannot get enough.
The mounting cost of natural disasters, including extreme weather events fueled by a warming climate, has insurers and public agencies looking to share the financial burden with Wall Street.
That’s where Seo, managing director of Fermat Capital Management in Westport, Conn., comes in. From a one-story brick building adjacent to the town’s railroad station, he transforms the risk of multibillion-dollar natural disasters into securities that pay off for investors — so long as they make the right bet on exactly how bad things will get.
This story includes details on the impacts of climate change that may be difficult for some readers. If you are feeling overwhelmed by this crisis situation here is a list of resources on how to cope with fears and feelings about the scope and pace of the climate crisis.
The “fire-prone conditions” behind the devastating wildfires in Quebec earlier this year, and the stifling smoke they spread across much of North America, were made at least two to seven times more likely by climate change, concludes an analysis published Tuesday by the World Weather Attribution (WWA) initiative.
An international team of 16 climate scientists “also found that climate change, caused primarily by burning fossil fuels, made the fire-prone weather about 20 to 50% more intense,” the UK-based WWA said in a release.
The deadly fire that killed at least 114 people on the island of Maui represents the arrival of a new era of fire threat for the Hawaiian Islands — and beyond.
The ruins of Lahaina, the tourist town nestled against the Pacific Ocean that was leveled by the blaze, now stand as a grim monument to the expanding geography of American wildfire.
Industry is approaching the plastic pollution problem in varying ways, with some companies turning to plastic alternatives made from unlikely materials, from fungi to algae and grains. Join pioneers in the plastic-free space pitch their innovations at Climate Smart Food.
So you want to put solar panels on your roof, but you’re not sure if you’ll live in your house forever. Do you need to be worried about what happens when you sell?
In all likelihood, no. For most people, rooftop solar increases the value of their home, making it even more desirable when it eventually hits the market. And despite common fears about the process, selling a home with solar panels is usually pretty easy — as long as your realtor is up to speed on how it works.
In an era when incentives are high and the cost of solar is low, experts say you shouldn’t let the prospect of resale stop you from investing in the technology. In fact, with the right strategy, adding solar to your roof can be an unalloyed benefit when it comes time to sell your home.
Coasts and estuaries are highly valued and provide important resources for communities. These environments provide ecosystem services including food, recreational space, protection from storms, and more. In New England, coastal water quality is particularly important for local communities and economies, with beaches and aquatic environments drawing in millions of visitors each year.
To help protect these important areas, EPA researchers are using social science to study the value that people place on water quality in coastal environments. Using an interdisciplinary approach, EPA scientists are learning more about the human dimensions of water quality through their research on environmental justice and water quality, best practices for public engagement to work collaboratively on improving water quality, and the values people have for coastal recreation. This work allows environmental managers, decision makers, and individual community members to better understand the value of investing resources into water quality improvements and protection of natural environments.
Over time, extensive fire suppression has set the stage for the increasingly destructive wildfires we see today.
The problem with fighting every fire
The way the U.S. deals with wildfires today dates back to around 1910, when the Great Burn torched some 3 million acres across Washington, Idaho, Montana and British Columbia. After watching the fire’s swift and unstoppable spread, the fledgling Forest Service developed a military-style apparatus built to eradicate wildfire.
The U.S. got really good at putting out fires. So good that citizens grew to accept fire suppression as something the government simply does.
Today, state, federal and private firefighters deploy across the country when fires break out, along with tankers, bulldozers, helicopters and planes. The Forest Service touts a record of snuffing out 98% of wildfires before they reach 100 acres (40 hectares).
At the same time, people have built more homes and cities in fire-prone areas. And the greenhouse gases released by decades of increasingly burning fossil fuels have caused global temperatures to rise.
The wildland-urban interface starts on the edges of cities where homes are built closer to forests and grasslands. Courtesy of Jessy Stevenson
Climate change and wildfires
The relationship between climate and wildfire is fairly simple: Higher temperatures lead to more fire. Higher temperatures increase moisture evaporation, drying out plants and soil and making them more likely to burn. When hot, dry winds are blowing, a spark in an already dry area can quickly blow up into dangerous wildfire.
Given the rise in global temperatures that the world has already experienced, much of the Western U.S. is actually in a fire deficit because of the practice of suppressing most fires. That means that, based on historical data, we should expect far more fire than we’re actually seeing.
Fortunately, there are things everyone can do to break this cycle.
What fire managers can do
First, everyone can accept that firefighters can’t and shouldn’t put out every low-risk wildfire.
Remote fires that pose little threat to communities and property can breathe life into ecosystems. Low-level fires that clear out undergrowth but don’t kill the trees create space for trees, plants and wildlife species to thrive, and they return nutrients to the soil. Some tree and plant species depend on fires to open their seeds to reproduce.
Natural fires can also help avoid catastrophic fires that occur when too much underbrush has built up for fuel. And they create fuel breaks on the landscape that could halt the advance of future flames.
Controlled burns are used to clear out undergrowth that can fuel catastrophic blazes under dry, windy conditions. U.S. Forest Service
Fire managers have advanced mapping technology that can help them decide when and where forests can burn safely. Thoughtful prescribed burning – meaning low-intensity fires intentionally set by professionals – can offer many of the same benefits as the flames that historically burned in forests and grasslands.
The Forest Service is aiming to ramp up its prescribed burning on more acres in more areas across the country. However, the agency struggles to train adequate staff and pay for the projects, and environmental reviews sometimes cause yearslong delays. Other groups offer beacons of hope. Indigenous groups across the country, for example, are returning fire to the landscape.
Adapting homes to fire risk
For decades, scientists have understood the relationship between wildfire and community destruction. However, little has been done to live safely with fire on the ground. More than one-third of U.S. homes are in what’s known as the wildland-urban interface – the zone where houses and other structures intermingle with flammable vegetation.
The biggest risk to homes comes from burning embers blowing on the wind and landing in weak spots that can set a house ablaze. Those embers can travel over a miles to nestle in dry leaves or pine needles clogging a gutter, a wood-shingle roof or shrubs, trees and other flammable vegetation close to a structure.
Owning a home in the wildland-urban interface means paying attention to fire risks. Risks are highlighted on the left and solutions on the right. Courtesy of Jessy Stevenson
Some of these vulnerabilities are easy to fix. Cleaning a home’s gutters or trimming back too-close vegetation requires little effort and tools already around the house.
Grant programs exist to help harden homes against wildfire. But enormous investment is needed to get the work done at the scale the fire risk requires. For example, nearly 1 million U.S. homes in wildfire-prone areas have highly combustible wooden roofs. Retrofitting those roofs will cost an estimated US$6 billion, but that investment could both saves lives and property and reduce wildfire management costs in the future.
Homeowners can look to resources like Firewise USA to learn about the “home ignition zone.” It describes the types of vegetation and other flammable objects that become high risks at different distances from a structure and steps to make properties more fire resilient.
The fire chief for Spokane, Wash., explains ways to protect your property from wildfires.
For example, homes should not have flammable plants, firewood, dried leaves or needles, or anything burnable, on or under decks and porches within 5 feet (1.5 meters) of the house. Between 5 and 30 feet (9 meters), grasses should be mowed short, tree branches should be pruned to at least 6 feet (2 meters) from the ground, and the tree canopy should be at least 10 feet (3 meters) from the structure.
What communities can do
Many counties and cities have their own wildfire programs to educate homeowners and connect them with resources. Some have started “tool libraries” to help anyone begin the necessary work on their property.
These can include developing zoning rules and regulations that require developers to build with fire-resistant materials and designs or might even prohibit building in areas where the risk is too high. The International Wildland-Urban Interface Code, which provides guidance for safeguarding homes and communities from wildfire, has been adopted in jurisdictions in at least 24 states.
Protecting homes from wildfires includes maintaining a safe perimeter clear of potential fuel for a fire. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Living in a world with wildfire
Prevention and suppression will always be critical pieces of wildfire strategy, but adapting to our fiery future means everyone has a role.
Educate yourself on proposed forest projects in your area. Understand and address risks to your home and community. Help your neighbors. Advocate for better wildfire planning, policy and resources.
Living in a world where more wildfire is inevitable requires that everyone see themselves as part of solving the problem. Wildfire can be terrifying, but also natural and essential. Embracing both isn’t always easy, but I believe it is the only way forward.
Residents in the Palmer Square neighborhood want a city ordinance to protect American elm trees dating to the 19th century that are among the handful that survived Dutch elm disease.
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